Dawar Bakhsh

Dawar Bakhsh
Mirza Dawar
Titular Mughal Emperor
Reign28 October 1627 – 19 January 1628
PredecessorJahangir
SuccessorShah Jahan
Bornc. 1607
Agra, Agra Subah, Mughal Empire
Died23 January 1628(1628-01-23) (aged 20–21)
Lahore, Lahore Subah, Mughal Empire
Spouse
Sister of Raja Jai Singh of Amber
(m. 1625)
[1]
Names
Dawar Bakhsh Bahadur
DynastyHouse of Babur
Dynasty Timurid dynasty
FatherKhusrau Mirza
MotherDaughter of Mirza Aziz Koka[2]
ReligionIslam

Dawar Bakhsh (Persian: داور بخش; c. 1607 – 23 January 1628), which means "God Given", was the ruler of the Mughal Empire for a short time between 1627–1628, immediately after the death of his grandfather Jahangir (r. 1605–1627).

Dawar was the child of Jahangir's eldest son, Prince Khusrau, who was killed at the behest of Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) in 1622.[3]

Dawar, who was affectionately nicknamed "Bulaqi" (meaning "Nose-ring"),[4] was initially named the Diwan of the Dakhin, and later Governor of Gujarat in 1622 by his grandfather, Jahangir.[5][6][7] However, being only fifteen years old at this point, the prince was placed under the guardianship of his maternal grandfather, Mirza Aziz Koka.[8] The Emperor also arranged Dawar's marriage in 1625 to the sister of Jai Singh of Amber to ensure the Raja's loyalty.[1]

Upon the death of his grandfather, he became a pawn in the political game to seize the Mughal throne. He was declared the Mughal Emperor by Asaf Khan as a stopgap arrangement to counter the claims of the Nur Jahan, who wanted Shahryar to succeed.

  1. ^ a b Inayat ali Zaidi, The Rajput chiefs and Prince Shah Jahan revolted (1987), p. 74
  2. ^ p. 74
  3. ^ Findly, Ellison Banks (25 March 1993). Nur Jahan: Empress of Mughal India. Oxford University Press. pp. 170–172. ISBN 978-0-19-536060-8.
  4. ^ Waldemar Hansen, The Peacock Throne: The Drama of Mogul India (1986), p.85-6
  5. ^ Khusrau Archived 2 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, The Memoirs of Jahangir (Rogers), Volume 2, chpt. 52 "... To Dawar-bakhsh, s. Khusrau, I gave the mansab of 5,000 personal and 2,000 horse."
  6. ^ Commanders of Three Hundred. Archived 2 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Ain-i-Akbari, by Abul Fazl, chpt. 234.
  7. ^ On the first of the Divine month of Khurdād Prince Dāwar-bakhsh, s. Khusrau, was appointed to Gujarat Archived 2 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, The Memoirs of Jahangir (Rogers), Volume 2, chpt. 56.
  8. ^ Dr S. B. Rajyagor, Gujarat State Gazetteers: Ahmadabad District Gazetteer (1984), p. 89